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Rated 4.8/5 based on 2148 reviews.
How Beautiful We Were
  • Product ID: 9781838851354
  • Availability: in stock. Ships next working day In stock Out of stock -

How Beautiful We Were

$12.00 $29.99
Author: Imbolo Mbue

Format: Paperback / softback

Number of Pages: 368


'A formidable storyteller' - Jonathan Franzen Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, How Beautiful We Were tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of clean-up and financial reparations are made - and ignored. The country's government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest only. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. But their fight will come at a steep price...one which generation after generation will have to pay. Told through the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghost of colonialism, comes up against one community's determination to hold onto its ancestral land and a young woman's willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people's freedom. 'How Beautiful We Were goes to the heart of one of the most urgent matters of the day. The highly suspenseful story of an African village's struggle for survival and justice in the face of ruthless American corporate greed is written with remarkable acuity and compassion. Mbue has given us a book with the richness and power of a great contemporary fable, and a heroine for our time' - Sigrid Nunez
  • Author: Imbolo Mbue

  • Format: Paperback / softback
  • Tags: August-2022, Fiction, May-2022, Modern Fiction
  • Barcode: 9781838851354
  • Please note that some books may be Remainder Marked
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    NB. Occasionally we open up a shipping window to allow New Zealand customers to order from the Australian website, and have their order shipped in the next shipping container.  Details of our shipping window can be found in our blog

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    For in-store pickup: Our warehouse is Melbourne-based. We deliver customer orders to our stores on a regular but somewhat unpredictable schedule. If you are based in Melbourne your order is likely to arrive at your selected store earlier than if you select an interstate in-store pickup option.

    Pickup from our Bourke, Spencer and Northcote stores could take up to 1 week to receive your order. 

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    Wondering about what happened to our previous Free Shipping policy? Our reasons for making this change can be found here

    Change of Mind - Remainder Marks

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    Our books are remainders which means that they occasionally have a texta mark at the base of the book.  This is one reason our prices are so low.  Unfortunately we cannot accept returns for books that are marked in this way. 

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    Mystery Box - Important to Read:  We do our best to ensure that our Mystery Boxes contain books selected from a wide range of categories.  (Aside from specific Mystery Boxes such as YA Mystery, of course).  As such, you're almost certainly not going to love all the books.  However, they are about $3 each, so can be re-gifted, used for craft, used to bulk out your collection, saved for a hobby you don't yet have... it's up to you!

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